Researcher and author Sylvia Ann Hewlett found that women don’t necessarily want to leave work forever to raise families. Sometimes they don’t want to leave at all. Employers need to find new ways to retain a valuable part of their employee population.

Read this excellent article

Andrea Learned discusses in her blog, Learned On, that study of and interest in gender differences is on the rise. And for good reasons, as she explains. I couldn’t agree more.

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Alpha Mummy blog writes: “Everybody wants it, nobody has any clue about how to get it. That’s because the idea is all wrong, according to Dr Steven Poelmans, co-founder of the International Centre of Work and Family at Madrid’s IESE Business School. “I don’t like the word balance,” he says, since it means if you put more into one side (say, work or family responsibilities), there’s less time for another. Instead companies and employees need to think about harmonising work life, prioritising things in the various parts of life as you need you to. “Work-life balance is about having a sense of meaning and purpose in life,” says Poelmans.”

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Barbara Bergstrom writes for Business First of Louisville - when women take charge of their career, tout their successes, set goals, take credit for accomplishments - basically be accountable for their advancement - the glass ceiling shatters.

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Cathy Arnst of BusinessWeek.com writes about the 20% rule for women in leadership:

“Seems that the glass ceiling hasn’t budged in years, no matter how many women enter the workforce. An upcoming report from The White House Project, a non-partisan organization set up to promote women in politics, finds that women occupy around 20% of leadership positions in business, journalism, politics and law firms. The rate is much lower in Fortune 500 firms and higher in non-profits (where salaries are typically low). And it’s been that way for years.”

Arnst has some compelling ammo in her article, click here.

Suite101.com writes about Equal Pay legislation and the continuing struggle for women to be paid equally with men for the same work:

“Equal pay for equal work” carries with it significant cultural meaning. For people who support the idea of equal pay rights, the phrase means paying women the same as men for completing the same job. For people who believe the Equal Pay Act amounts to a “handout,” the phrase tends to mean that business owners determine what work is equal.”

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Joyce Rosenberg, AP, writes in SFGate for the San Francisco Chronicle that tele-commuting has its pros and cons and requires a different management style. As I read the posting, it seems to me that most of the adjustment needs to come from the employee, to stay in touch and connected. The manager interviewed freely admits most of his on-site employees communicate primarily by email anyway, so why he feels phone calls are more necessary with his tele-commuting staff is not understood. Possibly a trust issue? He also says his tele-commuting still does the same good work. That, readers, is the bottom line.

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Pamela Weinsaft, for The Glass Hammer, writes about a new program developed for Merrill Lynch to help off-ramped women transition back into the workplace. ML realized they were recruiting many women, but losing them as they advanced up the ladder. Weinsaft writes:

” Greater Returns is billed as a “new suite of programs for women seeking to transition back to work as well as women professionals looking to accelerate their career growth and professional development.”  Participants will spend a rigorous 2 ½ days in courses designed to familiarize them with the newest industry practices and technology.  They will also learn how to tell their “off-ramp” story in a compelling and productive way.  “The key is getting [the women] to think differently about their capabilities and prepare them for their new roles, even if they are in other parts of the industry,” said Subha Barry, managing director and head of Global Diversity and Inclusion at Merrill Lynch.

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Jessica Marquex writes ofr Workforce Management: “Despite laws supporting gender equity, Japan still is a male-dominated culture, Combopiano says.

To address this, companies need to approach diversity initiatives as they would any type of change management program, Ito says.

This means the company’s top management has to be clear with its messages on the importance of diversity, he says.”

Several US industries have a similar male-dominated culture and need to take like action. (that’s my comment)

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A large study of over 11,000 women indicates they help maintain the glass ceiling that restricts their own advancement. The Women’s Dish blog briefly discusses this. My expertise confirms these findings. As I wrote in their comments section, “Training can help…assertiveness, gender communication (to learn how to communicate more effectively with men and high-level women with a masculine style), and self-promotion. Mentoring can make a positive impact as well. Generally speaking, men use the 80/20 rule - 80% of their time at work is spent working, and 20% is used to self-promote. Women, we can DO this!”

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